Elon Musk says ‘bar is very low’ after ordering federal employees to fill out productivity reports or resign

Billionaire Elon Musk said Saturday that “the bar is very low” after announcing that all federal employees must report their productivity if they wish to keep their jobs.

Musk, a senior advisor to President Donald Trump, said earlier on Saturday that employees will receive an email giving them a chance to explain how productive they were the previous week. If an employee fails to respond to the email, Musk said the government will interpret that as a resignation.

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk wrote on X. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Later on Saturday, Musk said the report should take under five minutes for employees to write. The deadline to respond to the email is 11:59 p.m. Monday.

ELON MUSK SAYS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES MUST FILL OUT PRODUCTIVITY REPORTS OR RESIGN

Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Images)

“To be clear, the bar is very low here. An email with some bullet points that make any sense at all is acceptable! Should take less than 5 mins to write,” Musk wrote on X.

In another post, Musk responded to the White House’s Rapid Response account in which it laid out what the administration has done in the last week, which included Trump signing executive orders to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and to end benefits for illegal immigrants.

“That would be a very impressive and long list indeed for you!” Musk responded.

“However, the passing grade is literally just ‘Can you send an email with words that make any sense at all?'” he continued. “It’s a low bar.”

A spokesperson from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirmed Musk’s plans.

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump meets with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House, on Thursday, Feb. 13. (AP/Alex Brandon)

“As part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to an efficient and accountable federal workforce, OPM is asking employees to provide a brief summary of what they did last week by the end of Monday, CC’ing their manager,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Agencies will determine any next steps.”

New FBI Director Kash Patel, however, has instructed agency employees not to respond yet to the OPM email, according to ABC News.

“FBI personnel may have received an email from OPM requesting information,” Patel told employees. “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses. For now, please pause any responses. Thank you, Kash Patel.”

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Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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The American Federation of Government Employees labor union said it plans to “challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country.”

“It is cruel and disrespectful for federal employees to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” the union wrote on X.

The productivity reports came as the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency continues efforts to cut suspected waste across the federal government.

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis and Patrick Ward contributed to this report.